SKY’S THE LIMIT

CONSUMERS A Dallas attorney takes solace in knowing that part of his daredevil teen-ager’s annual $12,000 auto insurance tab comes back to him as free airline travel. An Arlington audiologist and her dermatologist husband, who average more than $10,000 a month in supplies and other professional expenses, travel nearly every weekend-often on free tickets.

More devoted than most, these are three of more than 700,000 Americans who use Citibank Advantage Visa or MasterCard, cards that earn one frequent-flyer mile on American Airlines for each dollar spent.

More than 18,000 card holders entered a recent contest co-sponsored by the bank and airline “to determine the most creative and unusual uses” of the cards. While many of the winners had used their cards for charitable causes, one man charged the sky-diving lessons that enabled him to propose to his beloved in unique fashion, and one woman charged tuition for clown school.

But why stop there? A look at the Dallas Yellow Pages shows that the creative charger could go through life on a pyramid of plastic. While courting, you can charge flowers, candy, a romantic dinner and lingerie. When baby comes, prenatal care, obstetric and hospital bills, and layettes. Then there’s apartment rent (mortgages being about the only bill you can’t pay with plastic), groceries, clothes, schooling (Montessori through Ph. D.), entertainment, automobiles, shrinks, lawyers, accountants, geriatric care and funeral expenses-an entire in mileage.